The point is that we do have some younger members and we need to know what attracted them to join. If we can discover that, then maybe we can attract further younger people to the society.

It is all about trying to stop the declining membership. The Development Committee has done some excellent work in arresting the decline in membership numbers, but we need to increase!

It should be noted that all voluntary societies (not just railway societies) have exactly the same problems as the RCTS in attracting younger members, even our Darts League.

With regard to the comment regarding visits, it would be useful to know who you are and what branch you belong to. My branch, Surrey, has organised numerous visits over the years e.g. Northam and Wimbledon depots, North London Line signal boxes, London tours etc. However we need additional committee member(s) to carry on with these visits. Without people volunteering to assist at branch level these visits will not happen.

MisterC wrote:But the shop window for young enthusiasts is internet based. News is immediate and shared by social media, not a month old and passed from hand to hand in a paper publication. To survive, the Society must recognise that the website is the prime publication, not the RO, and prioritise accordingly.

Totally agree with MisterC on this point.

The section on ECML Class 90 workings and drags that I try and keep updated daily is probably the only thing on the website that comes close to "immediate and shared by social media". Ironically non members are often my principle source of data. Not everyone is interested in ECML oddities such as these but it is the sort of thing that does interest younger enthusiasts.

I would highlight that a few of the organisations that are ?weathering the storm?/decline seem to have active railway staff amongst their organisers. They know who to speak to and clearly get results.

The RCTS has and still has, I believe, numerous active railway staff amongst its ranks and the branches that organise visits seem to use this to advantage for their local members.

Maybe this is an area that should be carefully considered for the future. Look how some railway organisations actually utilise their enthusiast following as a charity raising/PR function for good causes. The GBRf ?Out of the Ordinary? four day excusion around the country next month sold out the whole train in hours, and it is in aid of two very worthwhile charities.

Similarly the head of Arlington utilises regular enthusiast tours of Eastleigh to generate charity funding and good publicity.

So enthusiasm is not dead. But it often needs a catalyst to bring the participants out of the woodwork.

As for questionnaires for younger members, is that therefore for anyone below pension age? (And yes I do think these attempts are a valid attempt to understand the younger sector).

They require instant information and clarification.

I had two examples of that today, provided by two other subscription organisations, which confirmed and independently validated two workings I saw today together with other relevant information. Waiting for such information these days in a magazine two or three months later is simply of no use.

Considering the timing of this Questionnaire, would I be correct that a presentation divulging the results with be made during the Officers Conference at Bournemouth? That being the case, is it then the intention to include this in a future RO or make it available through the Members' section of this website soon after?

It would also be interesting to know what the boundaries of the sample where and percentage of those in the sample that responded.

MisterC wrote:
If RCTS does not offer what young enthusiasts of today want then it is doomed to decline.

But the shop window for young enthusiasts is internet based. News is immediate and shared by social media, not a month old and passed from hand to hand in a paper publication. To survive, the Society must recognise that the website is the prime publication, not the RO, and prioritise accordingly. What's going on now in retail with High Street v internet is a stark example of what could happen. Are we John Lewis or BHS?

Indeed. I joined RCTS for RO in the 1970s then let my membership decline. I wanted RO because then I did not have to wait a full year until Ian Allen published the locoshed book. I am sorry, but today everything is immediate. The quickest way is websites, this board etc. Youngsters today want it internet based that is how RCTS will get to 100 years old.